Consultation on relocation of school gets go-ahead

Councillors on Aberdeenshire Council’s Education, Learning & Leisure Committee have agreed that a statutory consultation on the relocation of St Andrew’s School will begin next month.

The formal consultation will ask pupils, parents, staff and other community representatives for their views on the school moving to a distinct space within the wider Inverurie Community Campus, with a separate school entrance and classrooms, sensory rooms and therapy suites.

The consultation will open on Monday, January 9 and close on Friday, February 24.

A public meeting will also take place in February as part of the consultation process.

The proposal to relocate the school comes after extensice informal engagement with staff and parents over a number of years on future plans for the school.

Formal consultation must now take place in line with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and gives staff, parents and pupils another chance to have their say on the proposals.

It is expected that the results of the consultation will be discussed by Garioch Area Committee in spring 2017 before a recommendation is made to the Education & Children’s Services Committee for a final decision to be taken in summer 2017.

Work on the new Inverurie Community Campus is expected to begin in early 2018 with the facilities opening to pupils and the public in mid-2020.